INTERACTION

Post your reactions to, and reviews of, Mat's book.

I bought it for a writer friend of mine. He told me he was so convulsed reading it on the train he had to stop because people were staring at him. The mere title had him in stitches. Great birthday present!

Thanks, Stephen - it is always my ambition to make people stare at the readers of my books!

Problem is I have to get another copy for myself now.

All being well I'll have a few to sell at Eastercon in Chester.

Remember for writers the cost is tax deductable so not only will you get a laugh and a very useful book but you can get up to 40% back from Gordon Brown. Unless you pay no tax that makes it a bargain.

Make sure I give you a receipt.

Strangely enough, I don't find that a problem ...

My copy arrived missing pages 129 through 144.

Normally, that's the kind of thing that enrages me (in that pathetic, passive, quintessentially British form of raging where I don't actually do anything about it).

But in this case, the exclusion just served as a sort of hilarious object lesson that reinforces the many other valuable lessons included in the book: the pages in my copy stop during "Wasting Time - A Beginner's Guide", then pick up again just in time for "How to Nurture Your Ignorance".

I thought the missing pages were the best I've never read. And no-one can possibly level the accusation of Mat "padding-out" the book.

It's been a while since I read anything that had me laughing out loud so consistently. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Regards

Nick

Sorry about that, Nick - but glad you enjoyed it anyway!

If you can let me know your postal address, I'll send you a signed (complete) copy. Or unsigned, if you prefer ...

That's very kind of you, Mat, but even with a couple of missing pages, it's a great book. I can't hold the writer responsible for the packaging.

And like I say, the timing of the missing pages was so comically appropriate, I wasn't entirely sure if the omission was deliberate or not! I plan on hanging onto my copy sans pages - as a sort of limited specialedition.

Thank you for the thought, though. Your book's a great read, can't recommend it enough.

Regards

Nick

I found this book to be very funny, kind of like Spinal Tap, you don't believe it until you actually see it in the real world.

You have caught the stupidity of the industry well and the how to feel made me laugh aloud in the sternest of libraries.

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Gonzo The Great
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"How can you state something is so without declaring what it isn't?"

Many thanks, Gonzo - much appreciated!

I’m sorry to hear that there are still stern libraries in Manchester, though; on the other hand, these days perhaps we should be relieved there are any libraries at all, stern or jolly ...

Andy, I need to talk to you about download rights - could you email me please?

It’s more than funny, it’s a thunderbolt. It’s an autobiographical account of the industrial relations of UK media freelancing from the early 80s to now. It’s a cathartic truth telling. It is the antidote to every piece of individualist excrement I’ve been fed since I was an ignorant teenager in the 1980s, which assured me that the Labour Market is nothing less than a shopping mall for the fulfilment of our personal fantasies. I’m glad to report that I lent “Success” to a colleague at work and her teenage daughter stole it. Oh and it is funny too, as well as everything else.

I’ve ordered more copies.

Thanks very much, Ben.

I think the idea of having your copy pinched, thus forcing you to buy another one, is so good that we ought to make it compulsory ...